Shattered
by Medie
Summary: An AU Trilogy sprung from the Pretender2001 movie.
1. Picking Up The Pieces

Disclaimers: I don't own any of the characters or concepts of the Pretender  
I'm just borrowing them for awhile. Laura and Kyle (Jr) are mine though.  
  
Category: Alternate Universe. Crossover  
  
Spoilers: For the Pretender 2001 movie.   
  
Author's Note: When I was watching the Pretender2001 movie, the character of  
Eddie really struck me. I'd always wondered if there were more and suddenly   
here was one that was a good guy. So then, I wondered, what if his wife was  
Jarod's sister. Not Emily obviously, since she escaped life at the Center.  
I know we saw a picture of his wife and son but I'm going to go on the AU   
concept here and say they look like they do in my head.   
  
  
Shattered: Picking Up The Pieces  
by M  
------  
  
Compassionate brown eyes.  
  
Supportive hands on her arms, holding her up.  
  
A low, gentle, voice in her ear.  
  
"I'm sorry, Laura, but Eddie……"  
  
A sob escaped her.  
  
Tears ran, unnoticed, down her cheeks.  
  
Dead.  
  
Eddie was dead.  
  
"Laura……"  
  
Jarod.  
  
Jarod was speaking again. She had to listen. It was important.  
  
"The Center's going to come looking into this. You can't stay here." Her  
brother spoke slowly, trying to pierce through the haze of grief that   
surrounded his sister. Never in the lifetime he'd known her had he ever seen  
Laura like this.  
  
But then, she'd never been a grieving widow, with a small child, before.  
  
"The Center," She echoed hollowly, her eyes staring at him but not seeing.   
Jarod felt a chill run down his spine as he wondered if, on any level, his   
sister really comprehended his words. Pretenders were geniuses yes. But   
they were human too.  
  
Slowly speaking, as if taking care to choose her words, the slim redhead   
continued. "They're not looking for me or Kyle."  
  
"No, but they are looking for me." He reminded. "And if they come looking  
for me and find you, find Kyle, they won't hesitate to take you both back to  
the Center. You've got to take Kyle and go, Laura. You can't stay here   
anymore. It's not safe. I won't let them take anyone else from us. They took  
our brother, they can't have you - or your son."  
  
Laura sniffled as she struggled to bring her chaotic emotions under her   
control. She knew she had to get them under control. Jarod was right. It was  
too dangerous now. She had to concentrate. She had to plan. It wasn't just   
her anymore. There was a little boy's life hanging in the balance.  
  
And the innocent people whom the Centre would use them to hurt. Kill.  
  
She wouldn't let her son know what that felt. She couldn't.  
  
The feeling of having blood on your hands, but having no idea how much ––   
how many had died because of the things thought up in innocence. Her   
intentions toward her work nothing but the best. Good intentions born of a   
desire to help.The road to hell……  
  
She wouldn't let her son experience that hell. Would not force him to live   
with the guilt that she did. She would never ask him to. "Sweeper teams…"   
Laura, feeling more secure in herself, voiced softly. "They'll be coming."  
  
"If they aren't already here." Jarod nodded. "The Centre doesn't know you're  
Eddie's wife yet. If you disappear from D.C. now, and I erase as much evidence  
of your presence as I can, there's a very good chance they'll never know."  
  
Still holding her upper arms, he leaned forward to brush a kiss across her   
forehead before resting his against hers. "You need to take Kyle and leave……  
tonight."  
  
"What do I tell him?" Laura sighed. "I don't know how to tell him Jarod. It   
was hard enough to explain that Daddy had been hurt and had to go to the   
hospital to get better. Kyle's a Pretender too, Jarod. He knows how this   
works. How our minds work. He wanted to know why I just didn't treat him  
myself."  
  
She paced away, running her hands through her long hair. "He knows that our  
life isn't normal, he knows that Mommy and Daddy are way to smart to be   
normal. That he's much too smart to be normal. He knows that the reason   
we're so careful about who sees us and who knows us and what events we go  
to……he knows the security we've surrounded ourselves with has nothing to do  
with his father's job. He knows that some of it does……but the rest of it?"   
She looked back. Her dark eyes pained. "I want him to have the childhood we  
didn't Jarod. We lost the chance to have a normal family, to go to the cottage  
in the summer, to go swimming with friends, to go sledding in the winter,   
to go together to pick out a Christmas tree, getting up in the middle of the  
night just to watch a thunder and lightening storm, to go to a baseball game  
and eat a hot dog and spill drink on yourself……I want him to experience all   
that. I wanted him to have a family...now…"  
  
"He still has a family." Her elder brother reminded. "He has you and he has   
me. And Dad and Emily."  
  
"Who he's never met." Laura shot back. "He's never met his aunt or his   
grandfather. He's only just met you……and we have no idea where the hell our  
mother is. If she's still alive! No one should have to live like we do,   
Jarod! I want my son to have a life that's halfway normal! Where the   
words sweeper team, Centre, and Simulation have nothing to do with his life!"  
  
"Then leave!" Taking in a steadying breath, the elder Pretender moved to  
rest his hands on her shoulders. "Tell him what happened to his father. Tell  
him that you want to take him on a vacation. That you want to take him   
somewhere to spend time with him so you can grieve, to get over the loss.  
Tell him you love him and that it's time to go away for a while……then, after  
you've had your vacation, find a new home somewhere, preferably far away   
from D.C. and settle in. Start again."  
  
"Start again." The slim woman laughed bitterly, her normally healthy complexion  
wan and her cheeks gaunt. "I don't know if I have that in me."  
  
"You don't have a choice."  
  
Taking her hand, he led her to the window and pointed out into the backyard.  
Directing her attention to the little boy, who resembled both his father and  
Jarod as both men had dark hair and equally dark eyes, the only sign that   
he'd gotten his looks from his father and not his uncle were the dimples   
that came out when he smiled. Eddie's smile had been one of the first things  
that had drawn Laura. Outside of the fact they shared a background and   
understood each other's secrets.  
  
His smile.  
  
It had captivated her.  
  
Given her hope.  
  
Now, as Jarod said, "He needs that start," Laura knew he was right.  
  
Spotting his mother and uncle watching him, Kyle Ballinger looked up and  
smiled, and like his father before him –– he gave his mother hope.  
  
Finis 


	2. Leavin' On A Jet Plane

Disclaimers: I don't own any of the characters or concepts of the Pretender  
I'm just borrowing them for awhile. Laura and Kyle (Jr) are mine though.  
  
Category: Alternate Universe. Crossover  
  
Spoilers: For the Pretender 2001 movie.   
  
Author's Note: When I was watching the Pretender2001 movie, the character of  
Eddie really struck me. I'd always wondered if there were more and suddenly   
here was one that was a good guy. So then, I wondered, what if his wife was  
Jarod's sister. Not Emily obviously, since she escaped life at the Centre.  
I know we saw a picture of his wife and son but I'm going to go on the AU   
concept here and say they look like they do in my head.   
  
  
Shattered: "Leavin' On A Jet Plane"  
by Medie  
----  
  
Tis early morn  
The taxi's waitin'  
He's blowin' his horn  
Already I'm so lonesome I could cry  
  
Her dark red hair obscured by a wig of long mousy brown, dark green eyes hidden by contact lenses  
of the purest blue, Laura Ballinger held her son's hand tightly as they navigated their way   
through the large crowds.  
  
Like his mother, Kyle wore a disguise. The little boy's dark hair obscured by a Montreal Canadians  
baseball cap and 'coke-bottle' glasses obscured his darker eyes.  
  
Every inch the Pretender his mother was, Kyle Ballinger's expression was a perfect mix of   
excitement, nervousness, and curiosity. Exactly what one would expect of a child about to go on a  
plane ride. No one would have guessed he was a child grieving for the loss of the father he'd   
worshipped and scared of a threat his mother would not explain.  
  
Her face the picture of composure, Laura walked up to the counter with forged passport in hand.  
  
With a flawless French Canadian accent, she dealt with the smiling woman and managed to keep her  
grief out of her eyes. It was the hardest Pretend of her life.To laugh and carry on as if life was  
just fine, that her world had no problems, that her husband was alive and well and waiting for   
them in Montreal.  
  
The image that her mind presented, a smiling Eddie waiting at the gate with a small bouquet of   
flowers for her and a new toy for Kyle, made Laura's heart clench painfully in her chest. It was a  
scene they'd played out so many times before. Eddie waiting for her, always smiling, always   
supportive.  
  
------  
So kiss me and smile for me  
Tell me that you'll wait for me  
Hold me like you'll never let me go  
--------  
  
Like her brother after her, Laura had been focused on searching for the family the Centre had   
stolen her away from. That search had meant weekends spent chasing leads away from home. None of   
the leads had ever lead to a concrete fact but she had been able to take the opportunity to help   
people along the way. People who wouldn't have gotten the help otherwise, it was a chance for her  
to atone for the things the Centre had used her to do. The failure to find her family had never  
lessened Eddie's support. He'd always been adamant that she keep going.   
  
Find her parents no matter the cost. He'd always be there waiting.  
  
She barely restrained a sob. He wouldn't be there this time. He'd never be there again.  
  
--------  
Cause I'm leaving on a jet plane  
Don't know when I'll be back again  
Oh babe I hate to go  
--------  
  
Her son squeezing her hand drew her attention down to him.  
  
"Mom?" Like his mother, the little Pretender's accent would have fooled anyone. Even a native of   
Quebec would have been unable to tell the difference.  
  
"What is it?" Laura questioned, crouching down to meet her son's eyes.  
  
To her surprise, he flung his little arms around her neck and hugged her tightly. "There's a couple  
of guys following us."  
  
Shocked by the child's revelation, not to mention his observation skills, Laura shared no sign as   
she kissed his cheek before fixing his jacket and hat. "I know."  
  
She'd been aware of them for some time. Even recognizing one or two of them from her time at the   
Centre.  
  
They were heads of the Sweeper teams.  
  
The Centre had found them.  
  
----------  
Now the time has come to leave you  
One more time  
Let me kiss you  
----------  
  
Laura, taking her son's hand once more, kept her gaze causal as she surveyed the crowd.  
  
Identifying the Sweeper teams, the Pretender escorted her child through the people and, with a   
furtive movement; she and Kyle stepped behind a large support pole.  
  
When they emerged, the brown wig had been replaced by a shoulder length blond one.  
  
Moving swiftly with Kyle before her, Laura disappeared into a large throng of people.  
  
The Sweeper who'd been watching for the Pretender, and her son, frowned after several moments   
passed and they didn't reappear. A slender blonde had walked away from the support pole but he'd  
been unable to see a little boy.  
  
Suspicious, he moved around the column to check it out...And promptly cursed.  
  
The wig Laura'd worn lay on the ground next to the baseball cap her son had been wearing. Kicking  
at the column, he swore again.  
  
They were gone.  
  
--------  
Close your eyes  
I'll be on my way  
Dream about the days to come  
--------  
  
Disguises all put away, Laura settled back into her seat as she pulled her dark red hair free from  
it's confinement.  
  
Acting like a miniature 007, Kyle stood on his seat and carefully scrutinized the passengers around  
them. After a moment, he sat down with a nod of satisfaction."Weren't followed, Mom." He reported   
crisply.  
  
"Excellent," She congratulated, reigning in a chuckle as she leaned over to buckle him in.  
  
Sitting back, she fixed her seat and then sighed. She'd seen to it that the chances of them being   
followed onto the plane were slim. She'd booked them on several different flights, all departing   
at around the same time from the same airport and had even paid decoys to take some of the flights.  
By the time the Centre realized the others were decoys...she and Kyle would be long gone.  
  
Just the way she liked it.  
  
-------  
When I won't have to leave alone  
About the time when I don't have to say.............Leaving on a jet plane  
--------  
  
Finis 


	3. No More Pretenders Jumping On the Bed

Disclaimers: I don't own any of the characters or concepts of the Pretender  
I'm just borrowing them for awhile. Laura and Kyle (Jr) are mine though.  
  
Category: Alternate Universe. Crossover  
  
Spoilers: For the Pretender 2001 movie.   
  
Author's Note: When I was watching the Pretender2001 movie, the character of  
Eddie really struck me. I'd always wondered if there were more and suddenly   
here was one that was a good guy. So then, I wondered, what if his wife was  
Jarod's sister. Not Emily obviously, since she escaped life at the Centre.  
I know we saw a picture of his wife and son but I'm going to go on the AU   
concept here and say they look like they do in my head.   
  
  
Shattered: "No More Pretenders Jumping On the Bed"  
by Mari  
-----  
  
Being a Pretender, Laura was possessed of a particularly unusual sense of humor and enjoyed   
putting it to good use. Especially when accompanied by her sense of poetic justice.  
  
It was that partnership that led her to stay in the fanciest hotel in Montreal on the Centre's  
coin. It was disgustingly easy to arrange. She'd taken her laptop with her on the plane and,   
while en route, she'd hacked the Centre's financial accounts. It had taken the Pretender but a  
few moments to get that far and even less time to access the personal accounts of Mr. Lyle.  
  
The Centre had put Lyle in charge of the rogue Pretender who'd killed Eddie and Lyle had lost   
control of him. In Laura's opinion the bastard owed her beyond anything he could ever repay but  
she'd settle for several million dollars as a start.  
  
Eventually, when she trusted her emotional control, a heavier price would be exacted but until   
that day she'd decided to hit him in the most vulnerable - not to mention valuable - spot he had.  
  
His wallet.  
  
That was what he would feel the most.  
  
Particularly when the Centre came looking for an explanation as to where all that money had gone.  
  
Laura's only regret was not being there to see his face. The Centre had never held much use for   
the concept of mercy not even when it came to their employees.  
  
So, it was a felony well committed  
  
."Mom this is so cool!"  
  
Wondering when her son had added "cool" to his repitoire, Laura emerged from the bathroom into the  
spacious suite.  
  
"Kyle?" She looked around the main room but her son was nowhere in sight.  
  
"In here, Mom!"  
  
Walking into the smaller of the suite's two bedrooms, Laura found her son looking out the window   
at the city skyline, while jumping up and down on the bed.  
  
Immediately the redhead felt her mood lighten as it always did when she watched her son. He'd   
become the focal point of everything good in her life. The reason she got out of bed in the   
morning. The only thing that held her rage in check. If she didn't have a child to worry about,   
Laura knew there was good chance she would have given into the darkness of hate and rage the   
moment Jarod had told her of Eddie's murder. And, in a Pretender, that darkness was immensely   
powerful.  
  
Pretenders were potentially dangerous enough when they were well-adjusted and happy....a Pretender  
consumed by rage and grief would be terrifying to say the least.  
  
Laughing, Laura moved to stand before her hyper son. It was good to laugh; even better to see   
Kyle laughing. He'd adored hs father and understood all too well what had happened to Eddie.   
The incredible intelligence that was his heritage saw to that. He knew the medical definition of   
death inside and out. He understood the psychological effects of grief. He understood things no   
child his age should ever have to deal with, a fact that grieved his mother to no end, but he   
could still laugh and have fun. The blessing of childhood. The ability to laugh when there was  
little to laugh about.  
  
"This is fun!" Kyle proclaimed with a grin so much like Eddie's it made her heart ache.  
  
"It looks like!" His mother agreed, squashing the grief into a corner of her mind. She'd deal   
with it later. "But be careful!"  
  
The young boy rolled his eyes. Which, coupled by the fact he was bouncing up and down on the bed,  
made for a pretty funny picture. "I'm not gonna fall, Mom, I checked first."  
  
Kyle's long-suffering tone brought a chuckle from his mother. It sounded so much like the sigh   
she would give Eddie when he worried about a Pretend she was planning. There were times when   
Kyle behaved so much like his mother it had scared his parents. Laura, like her brothers, was by  
far the stronger Pretender. Kyle had inherited his mother's natural ability to plan near flawless  
Pretends very quickly with little research. It had been a skill quite valuable to the Centre.   
One reason she feared the Centre finding out about her son.  
  
Jarod, Kyle, and Laura were all incredibly strong Pretenders, born from normal parents. The Centre  
had meddled there, yes, but even they could not have predicted the results. A child born of two   
Pretenders, like her son Kyle, had the potential to surpass both his parents.  
  
From that Laura's fear was born. Jarod had told her what had happened to their brother Kyle, how  
Mr. Raines had twisted his mind and stripped away his conscience, she would not allow that to   
happen to his namesake. To her son. It was out of the question.  
  
It was simply out of the question.  
  
"C'mon, Mom!" Kyle exclaimed, with a delighted laugh. "You try it too!"  
  
Laura shook her head. "I'm too big to jump on a bed, sweetie!"  
  
"Nobody's too big to jump on a bed, Mom!" her son argued with child-like wisdom, pausing in his   
play to watch her reaction. "Please, Mom!" he wheedled. "Its fun, I promise!"  
  
Looking into his earnest face, the elder Pretender considered his arguments then grinned. She   
wasn't paying for the room, any damages would go on the Centre's tab, so...  
  
"Move over, Munchkin," Laura ordered with a smile as she kicked off her shoes.  
  
Kyle laughed and moved enough to give his mother room to stand on the bed with him. When she was  
situated, he grinned.   
  
"Okay..one...two...three...jump!"  
  
And, laughing with her son, for the first time in her life, Laura Ballinger was jumping on a bed...and  
it was fun!  
  
Finis 


End file.
